Past Haunts
by christina b06
Summary: Post New Moon. Edward's unpredictable, old aquaintance from his rebellious years arrives in Forks and decides to stir up trouble with the Cullens.
1. Preface

_Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, they are property of Stephenie Meyer and so is her plot in Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse._

_First Attempt at Fic, be gentle! But constructive criticism is appreciated!_

**Preface: Edward's Guilt**

I flick the light off in the basement as I sit down, and strenuously place my face in my hands.

"Uhg. I'll kill that bastard if I ever see him again."

"Meow?"

"Oh, hello Midnight" I respond in a soft voice, half startled that she snuck up without me knowing. Mine and Bella's new kitten, rubs contently against the side of the chair, as I gently place her on my lap. I didn't think this would be a good idea, but Bella thought it would do me good to have something affectionate with even a fraction of the warmth she had. I needed something to remind me of Bella's best interests while she was in the hospital, so I don't go and find Louis, an ex-friend of mine from the bad old days.

A shiver runs through my body and I suddenly tense, hearing someone open the door upstairs. I listen intently for a few short moments, hearing the faintest creaking in the distance, the wind outside, and I pinpoint what I want. Emmett, it seems is coming to return the weapons the rest of his family had out a few days before.

"Uh oh, Midnight, Emmett shouldn't see you or he'll freak out, poor guy."

"Anyone down here?" Emmett asks eagerly in his usual growling voice. He must be in a good mood. I gingerly scoop up the kitten and flatten to the side of the wall. Emmett trudges over to the chest and noiselessly puts the weapons back inside. I race through Emmett's mind and discover that I haven't been noticed and unwillingly hear Emmett's plans for him and Rosalie the following evening.

"Wow, that cannot be natural" I murmer to myself. I make a mental note to stow away at Bella's tomorrow to avoid hearing things that…_best be avoided_.

I sit back with Midnight on my lap and my mind goes over the events of the previous days. I told myself I would never live to see Bella in pain again, and I had already gone back on my promise. It drew so much hurt out of me to see her lying on the ground like that, again. So similar to the way I saw her in Phoenix it made me ache.

I lay in the dark, feeling beat of our new pet's heart on my stomach for hours it seemed. It felt nice to let the warmth flow through me, it gave me peace of mind. I only woke from my trance when I heard Alice call my name. She was still tentative about seeing me. I got the feeling that my family felt worse about it than I do at this point.

"Bella's here, home from the hospital" she thinks in my direction. I eagerly sit up and gracefully bound up the stairs. Sure enough, Bella is standing by the piano with a sudden lightness in her eyes when she turns to see me. It's hard to believe that there is someone I want to protect more than my own life.

"Edward, you know why I'm here, you finally have to let me in on the details of what happened with me and the rest of your family the other day."

She turns and I get a waft of my favourite scent. I flash my crooked smile and I see her blush. This is going to be harder then I thought, but she needs to know what happened.

"Ed, you been chasing mountain lions again? You smell kinda….feline." remarks Emmett.

I flash a glance at Rosalie and she clues in, and distracts Emmett. I lead Bella upstairs to my room. She sits on the couch, engaged in my every move, and I decide to get right down to it.

"Bella, I love you…I'm going be honest with you because I never want this to happen again."

"I love _you_, nothing can change that." She responds, flushing and giving me a smile.

"Ok, well It all started a few days ago" I say.


	2. Chapter 1: A ReIntroduction

_All Characters (besides Louis) still owned by Stephenie Meyer_

**Chapter 1: A Re Introduction**

"There were a few years after Carlisle turned me, that I didn't take to his rules as much as I should have. I'm sure I've told you this before, but not in any detail." I say

"That's ok; I've always wanted to know more about you in the past. You know how curious I get about you, because I'm sure there are so many things that you haven't let me in on yet" Bella responds and shifts in her seat, eager for whatever is about to come next.

"I was in Chicago, and, well hunting had become a sort of job for me. I went after those who I knew deserved it…or who I thought deserved it back then. It only occurred to me after that I was playing god. I searched people's minds and then determined who I would hunt."

Bella continued her gaze on me with her curious eyes. She did not make it easy to be as truthful as I was, because I knew that it might scare her…or should scare her.

I began again, this time in a smoother, velvety voice. "I met a fellow vampire name Louis around that time, and we tended to stick together. It's hard to be alone when you have so many secrets, and Louis and I became friends. He, like Alice, Jasper and I also brought a special gift with him from when he was human. He could manipulate your senses; make you think you're seeing, smelling something more intense than reality. It was a useful tactic in the way we hunted together; it would be easy for him to lure someone close to us, on top of the fact that we were already irresistible to our prey." I stopped and glanced at Bella, those eyes were not letting up, and I could tell she wanted more. She caught be glancing and showed me a quiet smile. I decided to keep my focus away from her for the time being, she only makes it harder for me to concentrate.

**_Chicago: 1928_**

"Edward, I think we should go down to the lake tonight. There ought to be some miscreants loitering by the waterside", Louis says with a grin. I smile back and he lets it slip how anxious, not to mention hungry he is. I nod my head in agreement and we set off in the night.

When we arrive in Burnham Park we slow to a walk and silently rustle through the bushes. As graceful as we are, it's hard for Louis to concentrate on stealth when he's this thirsty. As we reach the middle of the park, the trees start to condense. We're looking for someone, anyone that we can justify killing. I alone hear a cry, and tense. Then one comes out loud and we both jerk our heads suddenly to the direction in which it came.

"This will do", Louis casually thinks in my direction. As long as I've known Louis, he's been a sucker for a damsel in distress. We bound through the trees, the gentle breeze of the windy city passing over my face, even in the dense trees. I catch a whiff of something I don't recognize. It seems unfamiliar, unexpected, and not quite human.

"Louis, wait", I hiss, but it's too late and we arrive on the scene, only to see a woman lying limp on the ground. She is still, but I can still hear a heartbeat. We both turn instantaneously to the right and see a striking young woman emerge from the bush, with blood trickling down the side of her mouth. There's no one else here, and I suddenly realize that there will be no bad guy to catch.

"Louis, I think we should leave", I whisper. I glance over at him but his attention has returned to the woman, bleeding on the ground.

"Edward…", he replies and then grows silent. I concentrate and discover how thirsty he actually is. If I don't get him away from her then he will clearly go in for the kill. The female vampire smiles casually and mutters something about the woman's boyfriend going the other way. I glance at Louis, his composure fading, and nostrils flaring wide. When I turn back, the woman is gone.

"Louis, we have to leave!"

"NO,…no just wait." He says.

Something sound suddenly grabs my attention and realize that the man who ran away must have found help because I could hear sirens coming ever closer. I glance back at Louis but it's too late, he is hunched over the girl and feeding. A knot grows in my stomach, and all those ideals that Carlisle had pressed on me after my transformation flew around in my mind. Something about killing an innocent person with pure blood lust was wrong, and I knew it deep inside.

I'd been suppressing these feelings for a while now, because I believed I was making some sort of difference.

"Louis…we really have to go now. No use being here to be discovered by the police", I growl at him as I hear more and more rustling and commotion coming from behind me.

I glance down at Louis, and see the pure fire in his eyes glow a light crimson. I realize that he probably has been like this for some time, and has been secretly defying the life I thought we made for ourselves.

Just then I catch an intriguing and almost familiar scent as the breeze passes through and realize that we've lingered too long. I slowly turn around and see my mentor, adopted father, Carlisle. He is standing before us. His golden eyes are staring from Louis and the dead woman to me. He is dressed in doctor's attire with a jacket, telling me that he came with the ambulance.

He opens his mouth to speak but I can see the disappointment in his eyes. I havnt seen him since I left, quite a while ago now. The expression of sadness on his face is the same as the last time. I glance at Louis now standing by my side, and realize that he believes that he and I killed the woman. The knot in my stomach grows but I turn to Louis

"Its time to leave."

"Ya, lets go." He says, and we're off before I can take another look at the pure sadness and disappointment on his face.


End file.
